Pelajaran Cinta

Students who come to Yogyakarta to study, also have their first taste of love and sex. Three friends, Benny, Lesmono, and Larso find this out for themselves. Benny, a ladies’ man, introduces his friends to prostitution. Lesmono is secretly in love with Indri, but she falls into the hands of Benny. Benny, who takes life very lightly, manages to smuggle Indri into his room in the lodging house. When he goes home to Jakarta, Indri is anxious because she misses her period. Lesmono helps her to find a shaman who can perform an abortion. But when she goes to see a doctor, she finds out that she is not pregnant after all. Lesmono hopes to get Indri back but his hopes vanish when Benny returns and Indri goes back to him. Attempting to represent the teenagers’ psychological state in relation to love and sex; the film only manages to be jokey and shallow.

Directed by Matnoor Tindaon, Pelajaran Cinta leans on a strong ensemble — Rano Karno, Anita Carolina Mohede, Harvey Malaiholo — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1979.